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TRP: Gavi, Hansel, and Jonn (Understanding)
IZZY Glimmerton, Day 225. It was kind of fucking weird, so far, having Jonn around the castle. He wasn't living there -- he'd spent a night or two at an inn in town, but he was walking between the town and Skyport frequently, too. Hansel'd made sure he was staying with Finch, now that their guild had gone under, figuring that if he'd kept Jonn out of trouble this long, he would keep doing it. Seemed to be working out okay. It worried him, a bit, the way Jonn talked about Finch, because it was a fucking lot like the way he used to talk about Helena, but -- he could only do so much. Either way, it was fucking nice getting to hang out with his kid again. It'd been great having him out at Shepherd Hills, too, but this was more like how it'd been before -- going out with him to people watch and play darts, and gamble and drink. Jonn said he didn't drink as much as he used to, because it fucked with his memory now. He asked Hansel if that was just something that happened as you got older, and from behind a stein, Hansel said yeah, that was probably it. Hansel was a shitty liar, but Jonn always just believed him. It was getting late in the evening and Hansel was trying to hide how tired he was, because Jonn was excited and keyed up, and Hansel didn't want to leave him to his own devices -- had lifted him up onto his shoulders because Jonn didn't weigh a fuckin' thing, anyway -- when he spotted some bullshit going on down the street. A clot of guards had someone surrounded, voices raised and weapons out, and he felt Jonn sit up straighter on his shoulders the second before he realized himself -- the half-orc the guards had gathered around was Gavi. . "Hey," Jonn said. "Hey, should we help her?" "Fuck yeah, we should." He sauntered over, hoisting Jonn up and ducking his own head to set him down, and pulling his trident off his back in the same motion. He slammed the end against the cobble street and barked out a hey. When a couple guards looked his way, he offered a sharp grin, and Jonn leaned against his arm, spinning a throwing knife around his finger, face split by his own slasher smile. "You really shouldn't fuck with any more of my friends," Hansel said congenially. He really didn't want to have to fight these bastards, but he fuckin' would. ABBY Some people went through life and misfortune just happened to 'em. Well behaved, well mannered, didn't try to cause trouble, just had a ton of bad luck. Gavi wasn't one of those people. Gavi went out and fought a bear over it's cave. Gavi went running into a collapsing building cause she was bored. Gavi, even though she'd spent half the day hunting in the woods with Joan, decided to take offense to some guy's attitude and throw him through the window. Well, course he didn't like that, and when she climbed out after him he punched her in the gut. Then Gavi smashed his face into her knee, he elbowed her face-- to make a long story short they had a brawl. Course the town guard didn't like that. Especially didn't like it cause turned out he was one of those two-bit scrappers himself. (For a guardsman he sure sucked at fighting.) Wasn't till the whole crowd of 'em showed up though that common sense started to speak up a little louder. Even a bunch of bitch-ass fighters could take down a more experienced one, if they had the numbers. These guards didn't have much, but that- that they did have. So Gavi was holding her ax, wondering if maybe she should surrender before this got real out of hand, cept then reinforcements showed up. Fuckin' Hansel and the squirt. This was getting exciting again. "Yeah motherfuckers," she taunted, swinging her ax up to rest on her shoulders. "Think you can take us, huh? Ya bunch of pansy-ass bitches? You--" she turned towards one guard- looked barely old enough to shave. "You wanna go home to mama in pieces, huh? Just tell me how many, I can sure oblige," she said, giving a reckless, feral grin. IZZY Fuckin' Gavi. Hansel was buzzed enough that he found it pretty fuckin' amusing, even though he'd prefer to just intimidate the guard into backing down, and he wasn't sure that was how Gavi worked. He spotted that one guy among the guards, though -- that guy who'd fucked with Goro -- and turned his grin on him, in particular. He tapped his Clockwork Trident against the cobbles again as a reminder that he hadn't needed weapons to ruin Kash's face the last time, and today he had both tridents and two axes and backup. Kash stared at him and backed off a couple steps, and the others looked to him, then to Hansel and Jonn, then to Gavi, then back to Kash. They fuckin' scattered. Hansel gave a pleased snort and stepped closer to Gavi as they did, just in case any of them got the bright idea to be a hero, and Jonn followed his lead. He waited until they'd fully fucked off, then shifted his trident from one hand to the other and draped his arm around Jonn's shoulders. The kid put his knife away and leaned into him. "So, uh." Hansel gave Gavi an amused look. "What'd you do this time?" ABBY "Yeah you better run! Fuckers!" Gavi yelled at their retreating backs. "I'm the fuckin' Spineripper!" She was almost sorry to see 'em go. Adrenaline buzzing under her skin, and no way to burn it off now. Ah well. "Chucked one of 'em through a window," Gavi said to Hansel, looking completely unrepentant. "Fucker was giving me a look. Hey squirt." IZZY Hansel nodded solemnly. "Yeah, it's like that sometimes, eh." Jonn raised a hand at her, then grabbed Hansel's arm, and Hansel automatically shifted to make a handhold and a foothold that let Jonn climb back onto his shoulders, legs dangling over each one. He liked being taller, and Hansel thought it was fucking adorable. ABBY "Sure is," Gavi agreed, watching Jonn climb up. First, that was adorable, second, Hansel got it. "How's the weather up there?" she called to Jonn, teasing lightly. IZZY Jonn hunched way down so he could prop his chin on top of Hansel's head. "Warm," he said, sounded contented, and looped his arms around Hansel's neck. Hansel passed his trident back to the kid, making him shuffle to slip it into its holster before settling comfortably again. "Safety in numbers," Hansel commented, a bit dryly. "Y'wanna come drinking with us?" He wanted to like Gavi. Raef's ... aunt-in-law, or whatever, and all. Maybe they could find some fuckin' common ground and she could avoid breaking anyone's fingers from here on out. She was fuckin' dying, anyway, so he guessed he didn't have to try for that long. ABBY If that Jonn kid and Hansel wasn't just about the cutest thing. Gavi felt herself smiling softer now. She could recall packing Timur around like that-- till he'd got old enough he wanted to be a big boy and decided he was too old too. She'd praised him for it, but it'd broken her heart a little. Such was the pains of motherhood. "I would, but I suspect I'd end up pitching someone else through a window," she said wryly, holstering her axe. "I think Joan might get pissed if I pick two fights with the town guard today." IZZY "I could always try to hold you back," Hansel offered. Then he scratched his beard thoughtfully, squinting. "Town guard, though. Might just fuckin' join you." "I can't hold either one of you back," Jonn put in. "Yeah, we might need a fuckin' adult, or somethin'." ABBY "Hey I am a fucking adult," Gavi objected. "Just a fucking adult that likes to fucking fight." IZZY Hansel snorted. "Y'know, there's this fucking thing called, uh. Impulse control. I ain't sure you got any." He looked up at Jonn fondly. "See, that's why me and Jonn go out together, so when we think about starting some fuckin' trouble, we remember that we don't wanna fuckin' get each other in trouble." He held his hand up, and Jonn high-fived him. "S'fuckin' teamwork, and shit." Jonn nodded in agreement. ABBY "Ya'll are the cutest shit." And there went Gavi, proving the point that she didn't have any impulse control. She'd roll with it. "Watching each others backs and shit." She sighed, looking a little wistful. "I miss that." IZZY Hansel scoffed. Fuckin' dumb. "Well, don't fuckin' miss it, then. I fuckin' invite you to hang out with us or not?" ABBY Gavi shook herself a little. "Yeah, yeah you sure did. What the hell, sure, yeah, let's go get drunk. I think the fuckin... Happy Goat still ain't banned me." IZZY "Think they banned me," Hansel said guiltily. "Nah, you said that was the Happy Fish," Jonn said. "You sure?" "Yeah, you told'em the name was dumb 'cause fish don't have feelings, and then you broke their like, happy smiling fish sign, 'cause fish can't smile." "That does fuckin' sound like me," he admitted. Jonn nodded sagely. "A'right." Hansel gave Gavi a lazy salute. "Fuckin' Happy Goat it is, then. Let's fuckin' go." ABBY "Oh shit that was you? Nice," Gavi held her hand up for a high five. "That think looked like something from a fucking nightmare. Course the Goat ain't much better. I kinda appreciate the fact they gave it fangs though." IZZY Hansel high-fived her as they headed for the bar, knowing he shouldn't be proud of himself, but kind of proud anyway. "I fuckin' grew up around goats. They ain't got fangs, but it feels like they do, sometimes." "I like your mom's goats," Jonn commented. Hansel snorted. "Yeah, 'cause they fuckin' like you." To Gavi, he confided, "Fed those goddamn goats every day for more'n ten years. All they ever wanted t'do was eat me instead. Little bastards." ABBY Gavi snickered. "Y'ever try eating them instead?" she asked. "My auntie Lieke used to make the best goat stew." Just before entering the bar she glanced up at Jonn. "Careful now, don't think they designed the door for you, big guy." IZZY "They're dairy goats," Hansel said, not actually answering the question for no particular reason. He paused outside the door, and Jonn awkwardly climbed off him, grumbling, then immediately slumped into Hansel's side, holding onto his arm. Hansel kissed the top of his head before going in. ABBY "Hey where I come from we eat what we can get," Gavi commented, following in after. And the two of 'em continued to be cute. This family. There was a table tucked back against the wall, one of those booth-types. Had a real good view of the rest of the tavern, while still being somewhat sheltered. Perfect. There was a young couple that apparently had the same idea. Gavi strode towards the table anyway, slamming her hands down on it. "Hey," she said to the two, flashing her best, scariest grin. "Our spot now. Scram." IZZY The couple stared at her in horror for a beat, then scarpered off in a hurry. "Aww," Hansel said, sitting down anyway with Jonn slipping to the inside of the booth. "See, that's why you fuckin' get in fights and shit all the time. You gotta be fuckin' nice to people." Jonn nodded eagerly. ABBY "Hey, but I got this for us, see?" Gavi protested, sliding down across from them. "Ya think fuckin... asking nicely would have gotten 'em outta here?" IZZY "Lookit us." Hansel gestured between himself and Gavi. "We're fuckin' tall, ripped, heavily-armed half-orcs. 'Course it would've." ABBY Gavi squinted quizzically. "Then that's still not askin' nice, just playactin' at it." IZZY "Yeah, but then when people call the town guard or city paladins or fuckin' whatever, everyone's gotta say, nah, those half-orcs just walked up and smiled and asked real nice if they could have the table." He held a finger up like he was making an incredibly serious, poignant point. "Hey. Listen. Look. Can we fuckin' help it that we look like this? Nah. May as well take advantage of it. Without gettin' in trouble, ideally." Jonn scoffed and straightened up to flag down a waiter. ABBY "Huh. Good point," Gavi commented. "Used to be I was the law, basically. This... not gettin' in trouble with 'em thing's new." Not that she hadn't tangled with some city guards in her time either. But usually that was cause they were raiding the town, and she was killin' em. That was easier. IZZY "Psshh. Used to be I was a fuckin' pirate. Gettin' in trouble with the fuckin' law's all I know." He started to wave it off and say something else, then grinned at Jonn abruptly and squeezed him around the shoulders. "Ain't that right, y'little shit?" Jonn rolled his eyes, but was beaming at the attention. He told Gavi, "I was a pickpocket when we met, when I was a little kid." "Fuckin' good one, too," Hansel said proudly. "Robbed my entire goddamn crew blind, one-handed." ABBY "Huh, really." Checking to make sure she still had her money would be rude. "Used to be I'd cut the hands off pickpockets." That was also rude. "Sorry." She lapsed into awkward silence, looking out at the rest of the bar's patrons and hoping the waitress came back with their drinks soon. IZZY "You'd've had to catch me first," Jonn said, smug, cuddled against Hansel's side. Since he didn't seem bothered by the whole hand-cutting-off thing -- too cozy and safe under Hansel's arm, probably -- Hansel just patted his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. S'long as you don't fuckin' try to do it now." He figured she could work out what'd happen if she actually threatened his kid, so he didn't elaborate. Shouldn't be too difficult. The waiter came by to drop off their drinks, giving them a slightly nervous look before moving on, which Hansel responded to with a toothy grin. After he'd left, though, Jonn chipped in, "Thanks for apologizing, though." ABBY Gavi curled her hands around her mug and shot Jonn a small grin. "Yeah?" She was getting better at this interacting shit. Go her. "Well don't worry. I left my hand chopping axe back home." IZZY "Y'should never leave home without your hand choppin' axe," Hansel said solemnly, drunk enough to considering whipping one of his hands axes out and slamming the blade into the table, but not drunk enough to do it. Jonn snorted. ABBY Gavi cackled and slammed her hand on the table. "I knew there was a sense of humor in there somewhere!" she crowed, pointing at Hansel. "Your dad's great, ya know that, squirt?" IZZY Jonn grinned and wrapped his arms around Hansel. "Yep." Hansel, meanwhile, scoffed and grumbled and decided against objecting that he had a perfectly good sense of humor, Gavi just hadn't done that much that he thought was funny. He swiped a shot off the table instead, and held it up to Jonn, who cheerily grabbed his own, clinked the glasses together, and linked arms with Hansel to down them. He was pretty sure the kid'd forgotten about the less drinking thing. Didn't matter anyway, since that wasn't why his memory was fucked up. He kissed the top of Jonn's head, like that'd actually fix anything inside. Always just kept fuckin' trying it. ABBY Gavi snorted and flipped Hansel off. Big grumpy bear. Still great though. Joan was great and all but sometimes Gavi missed the company of her own kind. Hey speaking of. "Hey you remember that one orc?" she asked, leaning forwards and resting her arms on the table. "Y'know the orc that looked like someone'd taken a bite outta his face?" IZZY "Oh, yeah," Hansel said. "That was me. I fuckin' took a bite out of his face." ABBY "Oh yeah? Y'know that just makes him even hotter." IZZY Hansel snorted automatically, then thought about it for a second -- divorcing what Kash looked like from the fact that he'd fuckin' messed with Goro -- and admitted, "Huh. Yeah, guess so. Damn." Jonn rolled his eyes. ABBY "Hey how much you know about him anyway?" Gavi asked. "Mainly if I've got a chance at getting fucked." IZZY He shrugged. "Man, I don't know his fuckin' type, all I know is he attacked my family, so I ain't gonna fuck him." He gave a magnanimous wave. "All fuckin' yours." ABBY "Hey I don't mind sharing," Gavi quipped, grinning. IZZY Hansel opened his mouth to say something to the effect of having to find something worth sharing first, but Jonn cut him off with an exaggerated groan and shoved at him. "God, stop. Gross." Scoffing lightly, Hansel grabbed him to hug him one-armed. "A'right, a'right, yeah, sorry." He grinned at Gavi. "Guess you're on your own." ABBY "That works for me too," Gavi said, leaning back and taking a swig from her mug. It'd been too fucking long since she'd got laid. But the kid prolly wouldn't appreciate hearing that either. IZZY Jonn nodded, satisfied with that and hiding behind his stein, and Hansel gave him an amused glance before looking back to Gavi. "Anyway, fucker's name is Kash, I know that much. Starts gettin' too clingy just remind him you know a guy that already beat his and his buddies' asses one time, and he'll do it again." Hopefully without any fuckin' divine intervention this time, but that seemed like a topic that'd be better off just fucking avoided. ABBY "Hey now I can take care of myself," Gavi objected, shooting Hansel a narrow-eyed look. "I'll just smite his ass a couple times. That usually works." IZZY Hansel snickered and commented, "Dunno, you didn't do a great fuckin' job against me," before he could think better of it, then shut his mouth, thinking, Ah, shit, nice one, commander. ABBY Gavi kept giving Hansel the same narrow look for a second. Then slowly, she started smirking. "Well I wasn't trying to chase you off." IZZY Oh, it was fine, then. "Yeah?" He grinned and sat up straighter. "You wanna fuckin' go f'real, then? 'Cause we can fuckin' go another round, Bonerot." ABBY "Hey y'know me," Gavi said, bracing her hands on the table and standing up, grinning back. "I'm always up for another go, ya fucking packmule." IZZY "Hey. Hey, now." Hansel stood too, leaning across the table. "You --." Jonn pawed at his arm. "Daaad. God. Stop." "What?" Hansel looked back at him. "S'fine. We're not actually fuckin' fighting." "Uh-huh." Jonn tugged at him. "You will be in like, three fucking minutes, though." Hansel considered for a beat. Ah. Huh. Yeah, kid was right -- he wasn't fuckin' good at backing down, even when it was all in good fun, and then partway through he might remember that sound Goro had made when Gavi bent his fingers back, and ... "Eh." He jabbed a finger at Gavi. "A'right, you get away this fuckin' time." He dropped back down next to Jonn. "Only 'cause the boss here saved your hide, though." Jonn wrapped his arms around one of Hansel's and leaned against him again, pleased. ABBY "Oh fine, hide behind your shafan then," Gavi said, flapping her hand dismissively and flopping back down into her seat. Looked like no fuckin' fighting for her tonight. Shit luck. IZZY Hansel snorted. If he hadn't already about killed the woman a couple times, he might get pissed about it, but he was pretty damn sure he could take her. She could talk shit if she wanted. In orcish, and with an innocent air, Jonn said, "I like rabbits." ABBY Oh huh. Gavi glanced over at Jonn, studying him for a second. Hadn't expected that. "That so?" she said, switching to Orcish too. (Felt good to speak it again. Like a little taste of home.) "Your dad teach you this too?" she asked. IZZY "We learned together," Jonn said, sticking to orcish, and Hansel lapsed into it too. "Hey. Nah. I taught you." "While you were still learning from Elitash," he argued. Hansel scoffed, then shrugged at Gavi. "Grew up around humans. I didn't learn orcish 'til after I met Jonn, yeah, so I taught him and his sister as I learned it from a crewmate." ABBY "That'd-- nah never mind." Saying 'that'd explain a lot' seemed like the sort of thing that might piss him off. "You taught him good," she said instead, tilting her stein towards Hansel and taking another sip. "Sounds almost like a natural." IZZY Hansel narrowed his eyes for a moment, but decided not to pursue it. Jonn just snorted. "Thanks, I guess." ABBY "Hey I meant it as a compliment," Gavi protested. Resisted the urge to bump her foot against Jonn's, fucking boundaries and shit. "It's good to hear my language being spoken y'know? Wasn't a thing I realized I'd end up missing." IZZY Hansel mulled that over. Supposed it was a bit sad, yeah -- he missed bellowing out shanties as he led his crew, slurring out bullshit about sailing and having people other than Mishka have any idea what the hell he was talking about. Part of him wanted to grumble about how there was nothing keeping her from going home -- no fuckin' sea monsters and terror -- but he redirected the thought. "Eh, you have a good time seein' the world and shit, at least?" he asked, sticking to orcish. "Being away from home and all." ABBY "Heh, yep," Gavi said, pulling her thoughts away from home. "Never realized how different places was till I started wandering around and saw for myself y'know? There was this one spot, a river, real big one, I set up camp and the view when I got up that morning. Fuckin' beautiful." IZZY "Man, I fuckin' hear ya." Hansel nodded. "I ain't joking about growing up just around humans -- I'm talkin' literally not a goddamn thing but humans. Then when I left home, started meeting tieflings and goliaths and other orcish folk and shit." He made a gesture and sound to indicate his mind had been fuckin' blown. ABBY "Y'know I don't know if I've got much room to talk there cause all the folks I've known before now have been orcs," Gavi said wryly. "Sounds boring as shit though." IZZY He snorted, then just shrugged. Gavi didn't seem to much care for non-orcs -- found them adorable at best, he guessed. He didn't see any reason to feed that by mentioning how fuckin' awful the humans in Shepherd Hills were. Jonn had been watching them both, interested in the conversation but quiet, and when Hansel didn't really respond, he commented, "That's fuckin' weird. You're both fuckin' weird. There's all sorts of people in Skyport. I never even thought about it." He propped his face in one hand, elbow on the table. Had that look on his face like Hansel was going to have to explain something bizarre to him, later. ABBY "Yeah well maybe you're the fucking weird one, growing up around all those-- halflings and fucking elves, and that turtle guy too," Gavi teased. "You ever think of that, shafan?" IZZY "Not really," Jonn said bluntly. "I didn't grow up with Roddy, though. And he's a tortle, not a turtle. And I've known some really nice elves and half-elves, too. Maybe you shoulda just got to know'em, and shit." Hansel snorted again, into his beer. ABBY Gavi was less amused. She pulled back and studied Jonn for a second. "Yeah well, when I find pieces of my family fucking strewn over the countryside cause of an elf army, it makes me a little less inclined to like 'em." IZZY Jonn tilted his head, and Hansel watched him closely. He could see Jonn processing that. Once he had, he said, "There was this human woman that tortured me and my sister." He said it blankly, without any inflection. "Hansel saved us from her. And our parents were humans, and they were fuckin' shitty, too. And the humans Dad grew up around fucking suck. But, like, my sister is a human, and she's the best, and there's other humans that're, y'know, okay." He tilted his head the other way. "D'you know Goro?" Hansel shifted. He didn't tell Jonn to stop talking, but he got fucking ready to. ABBY Gavi glanced at Hansel, briefly. "Yeah I know him," she said tightly. Glanced back at Jonn. "He's half though. Purebloods don't like them too much either." Raef was full blood. But Raef... Griffin loved him. Griffin felt at home with him. Gavi didn't understand it, but for making her nephew feel safe, she could step back and not fuck it up. IZZY "So it's not the elf blood?" Jonn leaned in. "If half-elves are okay? So it can't be every full-blooded elf, too, right? 'Cause there's no, y'know, common factor, then, if it's not biology." "Hey." Hansel put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't tend to care for it when Jonn talked about biology. Jonn kept going. "And Mishka likes Goro, and he's a full-blooded elf. And elves must like half-elves, in general, or there wouldn't be any fuckin' half-elves, 'cause it takes one to make one, right?" "All right," Hansel cut him off, more firmly. "All right, maybe reel it in, there, kid." He did, leaning back and falling silent, but still bright-eyed with interest. ABBY Gavi crossed her arms, clenching her jaw. She had the sense the kid was trying to spin her around in circles. "Lissen. Maybe your Skyport elves are different then. But I know what I've seen. Fuckin' elves keep trying to take what's ours. Trying to tear us down for taking it back. I've lost count of how many of mine we found slaughtered. By elves. And you're trying to talk to me about biology." IZZY Jonn opened his mouth again, and Hansel immediately, sharply said, "Nope. Drop it." The kid looked cowed, and he softened it by pulling him in to kiss the top of his head. He knew Jonn was going to say, But Mishka isn't a Skyport elf, he's from Alabaster. Knew he was going to say, I've seen people killed, too, and not by elves. Knew he was going to say something unsettling about how all kinds of people were just the same, when you took them apart. "Let's just fuckin' not, eh?" Hansel said gently. Sometimes it was useful to talk to Jonn briefly in orcish, when other people were around, but that wasn't going to work here. Shame the kid didn't know elvish, too. Jonn frowned, but left it alone; Hansel knew he was just trying to understand, and felt a bit bad for telling him off. It wasn't going to help, though. He would just have to fuckin' fight Gavi again, and he sure as shit would if she decided to threaten his kid, but he figured they could cut it out before they got to that point. ABBY Gavi watched their interplay, angry, hard gaze flicking from one to the other. A beat or two after Hansel shushed Jonn, she shifted to rest her arms on the table. "Yeah, let's not," she echoed sullenly. Ran her hand through her hair and let out a long, slow breath. No need to get mad and pick a fight now. She had cause, but she was trying to make friends here. "C'mon then. Tell me something interesting about Skyport," Gavi said. Still sounding sullen and angry. "Leave this elf thing behind." IZZY Jonn kept his mouth shut, looking at the table. Hansel chewed on that for a second, trying to think of something he could bring up that the kid would be excited to chatter about -- that'd keep them out of fuckin' trouble. It rankled him a bit. Having to step tenderly, having to be sharp with Jonn for saying shit he didn't fuckin' disagree with. Gavi could be all right, though, and he didn't want to get into a pointless scrap that wouldn't fucking change anything. All he could fuckin' think about now, though, was Mishka and Goro, and Raef and Serena, and even that weird fuckin' elf kid with the wolf. He grumbled wordlessly. "Dunno. Fuckin' built on top of another city, apparently. People like to go down to the undercity and fight monsters, look for treasure and shit." "It's cool down there," Jonn said quietly. ABBY Hansel sure picked the right thing to distract Gavi. A whole city full of dangers and loot? Right up her alley. "Shit really? I gotta go hit Skyport sometime," Gavi said, delighted. Drag Griffin, maybe Joan along- and if Griffin goes should offer to let Raef come- and they have a grand old time. IZZY "Yeah, I've never been," he commented. "Or, kinda." He wasn't sure if Diva's little fucking hideout quite counted. "Eh. Anyway, couple friends got stuck down there for a few days, while back. Gotta be careful and shit." ABBY "Heeeeey," Gavi said, leaning back and smirking. "You know who you're talking to, right?" IZZY He snorted. "A'right, well, you go missing I ain't crawlin' through the undercity to find you. Better make it out on your own." ABBY "Whos to say you didn't come down with me in the first place?" Gavi teased, bobbing her eyebrows at Hansel. IZZY "Me. I say that." ABBY "Oh fuck off you grouch." Gavi loved this guy. He was fuckin' hilarious. IZZY "Yeah, that's the plan," he said, amused. "That's what I'm fuckin' sayin'." ABBY "Okay I changed my mind then. Fuck in." IZZY Hansel snorted and laughed. "See, now we're on the same fuckin' page. Y'get it." ABBY "You could really give me it, too," Gavi said, propping her chin in her hands and winking at Hansel. IZZY He scowled. "Didn't we fuckin' talk about this? Y'still goddamn lucky I don't break more than your fingers. Don't fuckin' push it." Beside him, Jonn straightened, then settled against him as he talked. ABBY "Aright, aright," Gavi said, holding her hands up. Yep, still not interested. Shame. "I'm done." IZZY He grumbled wordlessly. Believe it when he saw it. ABBY Yeah, Gavi better figure out what to change the subject too before she got Hansel back to wanting to breaking things. "What do you do for excitement then, if not getting dragged off to the undercity?" she asked. IZZY Hansel shrugged. "Working with Joan and the Runners and shit, y'know. Plenty of excitement, most of the time. Ain't gotta go lookin'. Helped kill a hydra, the other day." "Me too," Jonn added. "Yeah, gettin' to be a family business," Hansel said proudly. Fucking terrifying, thinking about Luci being in that much danger, but Jonn and Roddy were going to be in it anyway, so they may as well do it with him, he figured. ABBY "Killed a hydra?" Color her impressed. "I gotta start hanging out with you guys more, ya'll get into the best shit." IZZY "Yeah." He thought about it for a sec. "Could've used another axe to throw at the thing, s'pose. Probably woulda made a snack out of you, though." ABBY "What a way to go though, eh?" Gavi said, grinning. IZZY "Yeah, just like that." He snapped his fingers and his teeth at the same time, grinning. ABBY "Hey c'mon tell me the story," Gavi cajoled. "Bet it's a fuckin' good one." IZZY Hansel scoffed, still grinning a bit. He'd been fuckin' unconscious or possessed for about half of it, but he could do part. He settled in a bit. "Right, sure. So we went up to this place called Sienna Springs, nice town, but fuckin' run by this piece-a-shit guild we were fighting. Turned out the guild was being fuckin' ..." He waved away the specifics. "Bein' run by a hydra chained up in this volcano next to the town. So, y'know. Had to kill a hydra." He shrugged. Kill a hydra, kill a god-king, kill a god. Not problem. "So this whole group of us -- me and Jonn, and my other kids Luci and Roddy, and Goro and Mishka and a few others -- we head into the volcano. Hydra's still chained up, we're fuckin' beating the shit out of is, it's snapping at us with all its goddamn heads. One point this other Runner, Jasper, she just gets fucking caught in its jaws and keeps going to goddamn town on it. Me and her and Raef are on the front, and I take one too many bites and go down, so Mishka cracks in close to distract the bitch, and Jonn runs in to dump healing potions down my throat." He paused to ruffle Jonn's hair, and Jonn put in, "Your healing potions." "Yeah, I make potions." He waved that off, too. "Anyway, fucking thing breaks loose of its chains, smashes through the wall into this fuckin' ... lava basin, or whatever, and we gotta chase it down and keep fighting from these little rickety stone pillars and wooden bridges and shit. Me and Jasper keep the thing's attention, mostly, and, god --." He huffed. "Fuckin' Luci -- listen, my daughter, uh, Jonn's little sister -- girl's fuckin' out there in hand-me-down armor from Goro and my old pirate shield, right there next to me. Cleric, y'know? Keeping me on my feet while Goro's on the other side of the lava, taking care of the rest." . He paused again, scratching his beard awkwardly. "Anyway, I got, uh ... Took some real bad hits and got knocked out. Couldn't tell you the rest." Then Jonn blurted, "'Cause Gruumsh fucking grabbed him when he was hurt and weak and made him try to kill us." He clung to Hansel's arm, hiding half of his face against it. "Luci almost died." Hansel winced. ABBY Gavi was grinning as Hansel spun the story. It was a good story. Fighting, nearly dying, impossible odds, yeah, the best kind of story. And then Jonn blurted out about Gruumsh, and his sister (little sister) nearly dying... and it was like a bucket of cold water got dumped on her. "Shit," she blurted. Wasn't sure what to feel. Defensive a bit, at first. But Jonn's blood sister- she'd be human- fuck if that didn't sound accurate. Jonn's little sister- how old was she? Fuckin- ten? (What if Gavi'd been turned against her family-- her kid--) it was too horrible to think about. She folded her arms over her stomach, looking and feeling sick. "Shit," she repeated, softer. "Is she okay?" IZZY Hansel nodded silently. He'd asked the Sterlings -- once they were alone -- what'd happened. Knew Jonn wouldn't lie to him and Luci wouldn't sugarcoat things. She'd told him about it real fuckin' matter-of-factly -- the lightning that ripped through them and dropped her and Raef. "Goro took care of her," he said quietly. Which, he guessed, meant Mask had, or something. Not fuckin' Gruumsh, that much was for sure. "And once they got me back, her and Goro took care of me. 'Cause, y'know." He shrugged. "Family." "She's really tough," Jonn said, sounding like he was proud and distressed at the same time, still holding onto Hansel's arm. "This other time it happened -- I wasn't there, but she told me about her and Goro managing to hold out 'til the others could get there and help." His fingernails bit into Hansel. He didn't say, And if the others hadn't gotten there in time -- "Yeah," Hansel said firmly. "She's all right. Everyone's all right." And he didn't say, This time, anyway. ABBY Other time? Shit. Shit. Gavi knew how this worked. Gavi knew that next time, there was no guarantee that Luci would be safe. Or any of the rest. They weren't orcs. She rested her head in her hands, staring down at the table. "That's my god," she said lowly. Not sure what else to say. Couldn't defend him, couldn't condemn him. IZZY Hansel shrugged. "Yeah." Not much else to say, he figured. ABBY Gavi took a few slow breaths. Right. It was her god. And-- she knew the rules. She followed 'em. Hansel didn't. So she could say this was his fault-- but last time she'd said that he'd knocked her out. And really... he was her friend. A friend that had a gulf of ideological differences but... well. Wasn't like she could find anyone that agreed with her out here. (Not even Griffin.) She looked up. "Hey. Can we go outside?" The bar was too cramped, to loud, to hot. "I need... air." IZZY He shrugged again and slid out of the booth, not quite sure what to think, here. Gavi hadn't been too fuckin' sympathetic about Gruumsh using Hansel to attack and kill his family before, and he was primed for her to want to fuckin' fight him, or something, and as much as he was attempting to make nice, he really fucking might put her down if she mouthed off like that again. Seemed a little put-off, this time, though. Jonn trailed along behind him as they stepped out into the cool air. Bit of a breeze, now, and getting properly cold as the sun went down. Hansel paused a few paces out the door, and Jonn linked around his arm again, like always. "You, uh. You good?" Hansel asked Gavi, slipping his hands into his coat pockets. ABBY Gavi paced back and forth a bit, running her hands through her hair. "Dunno," she said shortly in answer to Hansel's question. "Y'ever try doing something new?" she asked suddenly. "And it goes well. Till you butt up against something you're real used to doing some other way. And it's hard to figure how to--" she stopped and clasped her hands together, "mix 'em. If that even makes sense." IZZY "Uh." Hansel watched her pacing, and coming to a stop, with vague wariness. "S'pose." Trying to be a dad and a pirate at the same time hadn't worked so well. Shit like consistency wasn't really possible when you were living with the knowledge that any cannonball and any storm could be the end of you. He'd picked piracy and done a half-ass job of being a parent. "Just gotta pick one or the other, sometimes, I guess, if you wanna do either one right." ABBY Gavi let out a short, bitter laugh. Yep. This just about sounded right. She closed her eyes. I'm not betraying you, she prayed. I'm still faithful. It's just that if I can get along then I can stick around, watch out for Grif-- Imesh better. And she wouldn't be so lonely. But Gruumsh wouldn't care about that. "Okay listen," she said, finally rounding to fully face Hansel. "I'm-- trying to be more understanding and shit. And that's my god. But..." she grit her teeth, and then plowed on, "I know he's not yours. I know how important your kids are to you." She glanced at Jonn. "Mine are real fuckin' important to me too," she said softly. Looked back at Hansel, squaring her shoulders. "Look. I can't... I can't agree with you about Gruumsh. But I guess. I guess I can understand why you'd... think what you do." IZZY "Great," Hansel said bluntly. "Don't need your fuckin' approval, but sure." Gruumsh made me kill my sisters, he could tell her. Made me kill a fucking child who had never hurt a soul. Gruumsh fucking terrorized me and my brother, too, my human blood brother, put lightning in him and I don't even fuckin' know why, tore the sea away from my other brother when it's the love of his goddamn life. Gruumsh almost killed my daughter, twice. Almost killed my boyfriend. Gruumsh would fucking take everything from me again, if he could. Your fucking permission ain't required. None of that would be helpful, though, so he kept it short, and just shrugged again. ABBY Gavi glared. "Yeah well I don't need yours either!" Not helpful. "Sorry," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look I'm trying to-- make a point here." Hopefully one they could both live with. "Look-- I'm trying to say I want us to be friends aright? And I know this Gruumsh thing-- we both got strong feelings about it." IZZY "Yup, sure fuckin' do," he said dryly. Jonn tensed at her tone and edged slightly behind him. ABBY Ah shit she was spooking the kid. "Hey," she said to Jonn, gentling her tone. "S'okay. I'm really trying not to fight, for once in my life." IZZY Jonn made a noncommittal, suspicious sound. ABBY Well, she couldn't blame him for that. Sometimes the best thing you could do for for things like this though was to prove it. So, back to Hansel. "Okay look. What I'm trying to say is... I get it. You hate Gruumsh. Yeah, it rankles me, but I get it. Enough that-- I can shut up about it." She wanted to get closer, jab her finger in Hansel's chest, but with Jonn being so close, maybe she better let the distance stay. "But I'd sure appreciate it if you shut up about it too." IZZY Hansel shrugged the shoulder Jonn wasn't hiding behind. "S'what I fuckin' been doing all night, man, yeah, what d'you think? You keep your mouth shut, I keep my mouth shut, you don't break anyone's fingers, I don't snap you in fucking half." He spread his hands slightly. "Works for me." ABBY Well that'd been a lot easier than expected. Least once Gavi managed to get to her point. "Well shit and here I thought the subject just hadn't come up," she said, feeling the knot of stress unwinding from her chest. Wasn't ideal but, yeah, she could work with this. IZZY He snorted. "Honestly, you might be fuckin' surprised how many times a day I think 'fuck Gruumsh,' but I can keep it from comin' out my mouth." ABBY "Can I say well fuck you too without making you want to snap my neck?" It was a joke. Mostly. Gavi hadn't been kidding about it rankling to hear that. IZZY "I'll contain the fuckin' urge," he said wryly. Jonn relaxed a bit, beside him. ABBY "Well fuck you too," Gavi said. And for good measure flipped him off. "Now c'mon lets go back inside, I need a drink." IZZY "Eh." He glanced up at the moon. Was fuckin' late, and they'd been out for a while. Jonn had burnt off his dangerous energy, and Hansel was hoping he'd fuckin' settle down at the castle, tonight. He glanced down at the kid. "Think maybe we've had enough drinks for tonight, a'ready. Rain check, though, eh?" ABBY Gavi paused just before entering the tavern. "Sure," she agreed. "You two go sleep it off ya pansies," she teased. "Maybe I'll track down that fucker Kash for some fuckin'," she joked, bobbing her eyebrows and grinning. IZZY He scoffed, and dropped an arm to scoop Jonn up. Jonn immediately clung to his neck, cuddling against him contentedly. "Well, good luck. He might be fuckin' scared of you since I showed up." ABBY "Hey never hurts to try!" Gavi spread her hands. "Now if you'll excuse me I got drinkin' to do and men to hit on. I'll see ya around." She'd turned while she spoke and waved over her shoulder before disappearing into the building. IZZY "Psh. I mean, it fuckin' might," Hansel said under his breath, lifting a hand to her as he turned away, too. Jonn snickered against his chest. END Title: Understanding. Summary: Hansel and Jonn help Gavi out with a problem with the town guard, then the group go drinking and Gavi learns that Gruumsh has forced Hansel to almost kill his kids in the past. This has an impact on her. They agree to avoid discussing the things they disagree on. Category:Text Roleplay